


Firsts

by MugetsuPipefox



Series: Sea-Salt Family [7]
Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Gen, Ice Cream, Roxas' grudge against Riku: the saga continues, Surprise Party, The Author Has Been Chugging Loving Xion Juice And It Shows, breakfast divination, not re:mind compliant
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-13
Updated: 2020-06-13
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:42:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,200
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24696217
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MugetsuPipefox/pseuds/MugetsuPipefox
Summary: It's their first birthday (that they've been around for, anyway). Lea wants to make it a good one.
Relationships: Hayner & Olette & Pence & Roxas & Xion (Kingdom Hearts), Isa & Lea & Roxas & Xion (Kingdom Hearts), Naminé & Roxas & Xion (Kingdom Hearts)
Series: Sea-Salt Family [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1289027
Comments: 45
Kudos: 91
Collections: Sea-Salt Family Fics (KH)





	Firsts

**Author's Note:**

> Oh man I cannot believe this took me 6 months to write I am so sorry
> 
> A lot has happened since then! I fixed my laptop (yesterday), and I got a dog! I hope everyone is safe. There's a Lot going on in the world...
> 
> As of Re:Mind, this series is now an AU, but I hope you all enjoy it anyway!

The last time Lea had gone to the supermarket, he'd ended up in line behind a teenager who had been way more focused on their phone than the cashier trying to talk to them. Two middle-aged women behind him had not-so-subtly complained about 'kids today' always being on their 'damn phones'. Lea had, at the time, thought the stereotype stupid (his kids certainly weren't glued to their screens, and even when they were it was only so they could talk to their friends), but now, tapping his phone impatiently against his knee and resolutely ignoring the glare Isa was sending him from the other end of the table, he wished those women had actually been right.

It had been a solid five minutes since he'd sent off that text asking for a favour, and he _still_ hadn't gotten a reply.

Another thirty-seconds passed. Lea checked his phone again. Still nothing. Isa's glare deepened, and Lea made a point of gesturing at Roxas and Xion, who were nearly too zoned out to eat their breakfast, let alone realise he was texting under the table. Not that it would matter even if they did.

When five minutes turned into seven, he quickly pecked out a second message.

_L: Time sensitive_

Then, just to appease Isa, he turned the phone face-down on his leg, and took a deliberate bite of his largely untouched toast, making a point of maintaining eye contact the entire time. He fought against a grimace; it had gone cold, but somehow letting Isa know that felt like losing.

He'd barely forced himself to swallow when the phone vibrated silently, and he nearly choked in his haste to check it. Isa closed his eyes, and took a sip of his tea as if Lea's very existence pained him.

_H: Who is this?_

Oh. Yeah. He probably should have led with that.

_L: It's Lea_

_H: How did u get my number?_

What part of 'time sensitive' did this kid not understand?

_L: Borrowed Rox's phone_

(And by 'borrowed' he meant 'briefly stole it' while Roxas was in the shower.)

_L: So favour?_

There was no quick response this time. Lea took another bite of unpleasant toast, and watched as Xion, opposite him, visibly blinked herself more awake, and gazed into her cereal bowl like it held the secrets to the universe. She jabbed Roxas with her elbow.

Roxas vaguely tilted his head in her direction with a, "Hm?"

"Look," Xion pointed at her bowl with her spoon. A droplet of milk splattered onto the table, unnoticed by either of them. They scrutinised her breakfast in silence. Lea waited patiently for the thrilling conclusion to whatever he was witnessing.

After a nearly painfully long moment, Roxas declared, "It looks like a Bully Dog."

Xion nodded vigorously, apparently satisfied with his verdict. She caught Lea watching, and dutifully lifted the bowl so he and Isa could see too. Several soggy cornflakes had clumped together, and if Lea tilted his head and squinted _just right_ , he could kind of see the blobby silhouette of a Bully Dog Heartless.

Roxas dropped his gaze to his own breakfast, Xion leaning over his shoulder. They quietly deliberated their findings.

"Soldier," they decided, showcasing yet another cornflake clump.

Lea glanced at his own toast. The honey had pooled together rather uninspiringly. He held it up for them anyway. "Possessor?"

They tilted their heads, nodded, and turned to Isa expectantly.

Lea's phone vibrated again. He ignored it, suddenly invested in breakfast divination. Isa made a point of ignoring them while he finished his tea, and when the standoff stretched on, Lea quietly flipped over his phone.

_H: Why should I?_

He could think of a few reasons, but all of them would get him in trouble. Gone were the days when he could just threaten people into doing what he wanted. Alas.

_L: It's for Rox and Xi_

"Please?" Xion asked, when Isa still (somehow) did not cave to their puppy eyes. How he could be immune to _both_ of them Lea didn't know, and honestly it was a little intimidating.

"Come on, Isa," Lea cajoled. "Show us what you've got."

Isa held his ground a moment longer, before sighing and examining the inside of his now empty mug. He tilted it so they could see the leaves in the bottom. "Ruler of the Sky."

Xion 'ooo'ed. Roxas looked torn between impressed and irritated at the memory. Lea silently hoped that the tea leaves were lying. The last thing they needed today was a Boss fight. And speaking of,

_H: ...What is it?_

Finally.

_L: Need you to distract them for a couple of hours_

_H: Why?_

_L: Birthday. We're throwing a surprise party_

Technically, it was only Xion's birthday – Roxas and Naminé's had been a week ago, but with school starting and Roxas and Isa being away, they hadn't really had a chance to celebrate it.

_H: WHAT_

_H: WHOSE BIRTHDAY?_

_L: Theirs_

_H: IT'S THEIR BIRTHDAY?_

_H: WHY AM I ONLY HEARING ABOUT THIS NOW?!_

_H: WHERE IS MY INVITATION?!_

_L: Distraction. Yes or no?_

_H: GIVE ME LIKE AN HOUR JERK!_

There were so many incoming messages, it almost became one singular, endless vibration. Lea stopped checking when they devolved into indecipherable emoji strings and angry reaction images, and sent Isa a conspiratorial nod.

* * *

"I can't believe you didn't tell me until _this morning!_ " Hayner growled the second Lea opened the door. His arms were folded over his chest, fists clenched like he was preparing to sock Lea in the face. It was like being threatened by a kitten.

"To be fair," Lea shrugged, unintimidated, "I didn't know until last week." He'd been reminiscing like a sap when it had clicked. He'd spent ten minutes digging out the birth certificates he hadn't bothered to read, and a painful phone call to Even to confirm the dates.

This did not make Hayner feel better. "How could you _not know?!"_

Xion stuck her head around the lounge room door, attracted by the commotion. "Know what?"

Hayner flinched.

"There are other flavours of ice cream besides sea-salt," Lea answered smoothly. It wasn't a lie, he told himself, because he hadn't actually answered her question.

Xion's eyes blew wide. In his peripheral vision, Lea saw Hayner make a weird face.

"There are?!" she gaped.

Hayner's face got weirder.

Xion spun to face the stairs, leaning on the balustrade. "Roxas!"

"Yeah?" came Roxas' disembodied voice.

" _There are other ice cream flavours!_ "

There was conspicuous silence for two very long seconds, broken, at last, by the thundering of feet on floorboards. Roxas skidded into view on the second floor landing, expression matching Xion's perfectly.

"There's _what?!"_

 _Ah,_ Lea thought. _I have made a mistake._

Hayner looked between the three of them like he'd never seen them before. Lea had expected their first post-mansion reunion to be a little awkward, but not like this. "You didn't know?!"

"We've only ever had sea-salt," Xion defended.

Roxas bounded down the stairs, rounding on Lea as if he had deliberately kept this information from them. "Why didn't you tell us?"

Xion grabbed his arm. "He didn't know either. Hayner told him."

Lea bit his lip so he wouldn't laugh at her solemn tone, or the way Hayner was visibly struggling to reconcile 'Heartless Monsters' with what he was seeing. Lea could understand that; it was hard to be scared of zombies when the zombies were adorable and clueless, and had an unhealthy obsession with ice cream.

"Tell you what," Lea said, trying to repair the rapidly derailing conversation before they ran out of time. "You guys go hang out or whatever, and we'll explore the culinary world of ice cream later."

Given how Roxas and Xion had been kind of evading ice cream (and the clock tower) since they'd been back, he wasn't expecting an overly positive response. So he was very surprised to hear their twin excited cries of 'okay!' before they were tearing off down the Terrace with Hayner.

Lea watched them go until they were out of sight. He was going to have to call Ven now; see if he could pick up some of that fancy Disney Town ice cream on his way over.

* * *

The last thing Olette had been expecting to do on the first weekend of the new semester was frantic, last-minute gift shopping. She'd been woken up by a several full-caps texts from Hayner, that saw her and Pence meeting up in Tram Common an hour later. Hayner had been asked to keep Roxas and Xion distracted, which left the two of them to get presents. Olette wished she'd had a little more warning, but from the sounds of things, that was a pretty universal sentiment.

"How much munny do we have?" Pence asked, scanning the shops from where they stood outside the Bistro.

Olette tugged open her purse. "I've got 100, and Hayner gave me 120."

Pence grimaced, offering an extra 80. "This is all I've got."

300 munny. Grim prospects.

"We still have the 5000 we were gonna use for the beach," she suggested. They'd ended up postponing it when they'd learned that Roxas couldn't go, but Olette was firm in the belief that birthdays trumped a beach day.

Pence nodded. "We can always pick up odd jobs later to make up for it."

5300, then. That would be plenty to pick out something perfect for their first birthday in Twilight Town.

"Should we split up to save time?"

Olette divided the munny and gave him half. "I'll get Xion's if you get Roxas'?"

"Meet back here in an hour," he agreed. "If you find something good that costs more than half, call me."

"Deal."

They split up.

Objectively, Olette hadn't known Xion for very long. Finding something perfect for her should have been difficult. And it was, but not in the way she was expecting.

There were _too many options_.

Should she get that cute dog plushie? She'd spent an hour watching dog videos with Xion once, just because she'd loved the way Xion's face had lit up at the sight of them.

But then there was a super cute jewellery-making kit, or a photo album with a seashell pattern on the cover, or-

Olette paused, eyes catching on a display in a shop window.

 _Oh_ , she thought, _that's perfect_.

She quickly pulled out her phone, snapped a photo of the display, and sent it to Pence.

_O: Mine's gonna take a while_

_P: !_

_P: That's a great idea!_

_P: [image file]_

_P: Thoughts?_

Olette grinned. Seemed like they'd both been successful.

_O: *chef kiss*_

* * *

Olette didn't realise she'd been nervous about seeing Roxas and Xion again until she and Pence heard their voices filtering out from the Usual Spot. The words 'not human' had been bouncing around her head ever since she'd first read them. She'd long since promised herself that what they'd learned changed nothing, and she'd meant what she'd said – they were her friends first and foremost, human or not.

That promise still stood, but it wasn't enough to stop her from staring when they opened the gate and stepped inside.

Whatever had been bothering Roxas the previous week, he thankfully seemed fine now. He was sitting on the couch with Xion, the two of them watching Hayner pace with clear bemusement. All three of them looked up as Pence dumped their gift-laden backpack by the drum at the door, and bright smiles lit up their faces.

Olette's nervousness vanished in an instant. She would definitely have no trouble keeping her promise – obviously, whoever had written those notes had lied. Maybe Roxas and Xion weren't human, but there was no way they didn't have hearts. Not even Axel; not when he cared about them as much as he did.

"What's going on?" Pence asked.

Olette nudged Xion closer to Roxas so she could sit next to her.

"You're not going to believe this," Hayner said, pointing accusingly at Roxas and Xion. "They _like school._ "

"Are we not supposed to?" Roxas asked.

They'd probably never been to one before they'd moved to Twilight Town. She didn't really know what their background had been like, but from what she'd seen it hadn't exactly been normal. She remembered enjoying it the first year or so, too. "School's not that bad," she defended. "Don't be so dramatic."

Hayner instead opted to be more dramatic. "It's prison!"

"What's prison?" Roxas frowned.

Xion tilted her head. "Like the dungeon?"

"Oh." A pause. "You guys get locked up?"

"Yes!" Hayner cried, taking the dungeon comment in stride.

"No," Olette countered. "Not really. Ignore him."

Pence perched on the armrest beside Olette. "Come to think of it, we haven't seen you around. Are you being home-schooled?"

Or potentially off-world, given what they'd learned about the universe from Sora. Maybe they went to school with him.

"Ienzo is tutoring us," Xion explained. "We missed a lot, so he's helping us catch up."

"That explains it," Pence nodded. "Your school is actually fun."

"Regular school isn't fun?"

It was a matter of opinion, really. Personally, Olette enjoyed most of her classes. It was largely just the homework part that sucked. That, and the weird rules about not talking.

"The fun part is getting to spend time with your friends," Hayner crossed his arms. "So you guys had better come to our school when your tutoring is done." It sounded like a threat. Knowing Hayner, it probably was. Off-world or not, she wouldn't put it past him to find a way to drag them back by force.

There was a familiar ping as his phone went off, and he shifted so that there was no way anyone would be able to see the screen as he checked it. A moment later, Olette's own chimed from her pocket.

_H: Axel says once we meet up with Sora to let him know and then head back_

_H: Apparently they have homing beacons? Idk what that means_

_O: I mean it wouldn't be the strangest thing_

_H: tru_

_H: U guys got the presents right_

_P: [image attachment]_

_P: [image attachment]_

_H: O nice!_

"Is everything okay?" Xion glanced between the three of them, and Olette belatedly realised they'd been texting while Xion and Roxas watched in silence for the last minute or so.

"Yeah," Pence tucked his phone back into his pocket. "Our class has a group chat. It was just one of our classmates asking for help with the homework."

The answer seemed to satisfy her, regardless that Pence was a terrible liar.

"Ugh, enough school talk!" Hayner groused.

"You started it," Olette raised a brow.

"And now I'm finishing it." He stretched, one arm straight up in the air. "It's the weekend! Let's go do something!"

Roxas stood to join him. "Grandstander?"

"Grandstander," Hayner agreed, grabbing the ball from where it rested across the room.

Pence grabbed the bat, snatching up his backpack at the same time. He held it out like sword. "To the Sandlot!"

A mischievous grin stretched across Hayner's face. "Last one there goes last!" was all the warning they got before he vanished out into the alleyway.

"No fair, Hayner!" Olette called after him, but he was already long gone, Roxas and Xion not far behind. She turned to Pence, shaking her head in fond exasperation.

Pence shrugged, idly swinging the bat. "The way I see it, the person with the bat gets to go first, and choose who goes next."

Olette snickered. "Hayner last?"

Pence nodded with that one smile that always made Olette think he'd make a great supervillain. "Hayner last."

* * *

"102... 103... 104... Oh! Quick, Xion!"

Xion lunged, smacking the ball up a split second before it could hit the ground.

"Yes! 105!"

She still had a ways to go to reach Roxas' high score, but at the rate she was going, they were about to crown a new champion. She deserved it more than anyone – she was playing in _heels_. She'd been wearing the exact same heeled boots when she'd smashed everyone in the Struggle Tournament, too. She'd never admit it, but Olette was both in awe and a little scared of her power.

"110... 111..." Pence continued counting.

"Why do I get the feeling she could crush me beneath her heel if she wanted to?" Hayner muttered, more to himself than anyone.

"Because she could," Roxas told him. "Blindfolded."

"I want to be offended but I know you're right."

"It'd be like swatting a fly," Olette agreed.

"And I would thank her for the privilege."

"I wouldn't do that," Xion called out, eyes fixed on the ball as it arched overhead.

"But you could," Pence said. "116..."

As if solely to prove that, yes, she could, Xion used the brief second the ball was next in the air to spin, bop Hayner lightly on the head with her bat, and successfully save hit 117. The look on his face had Olette and Roxas doubling over with laughter.

Xion's hit count crept closer and closer to the high score of 157. The spectators grew increasingly tense as it climbed. Roxas had started mumbling encouragement under his breath.

"154," Pence tracked, his grin growing with every hit. "155... 156! 157! 158!"

Xion suddenly straightened, game forgotten. The ball bounced off the top of her head, rolling a few feet away.

"The king is dead!" Pence bowed down. "All hail the queen!"

"All hail!" Hayner echoed. "But not for long! I'll dethrone you, just you wait!"

"Sora's here," Xion said, before Olette had a chance to ask if she was okay.

"And Naminé?" Roxas followed her gaze, staring out towards Market Street. "She didn't say she was coming."

Olette met Hayner and Pence's eyes. They knew that name.

"How do you know?" Hayner asked carefully, all thoughts of Grandstander long forgotten.

Xion let her bat-wielding arm drop. She tore her gaze from Market Street, fixing it on Roxas. "We can... feel it, I guess?"

"It's hard to explain," Roxas shrugged.

Roxas was part of Sora, even as he was still also _not_ Sora (no matter what those notes claimed). Olette didn't really understand how both of them could coexist, if Roxas was supposed to be Sora's heartless body, but she would bet munny that that connection had something to do with him being able to sense Sora. It did not explain why Xion could, though – especially if Xion was not Naminé like she'd thought.

" _Oh_ ," Hayner realised. "Homing beacons."

Roxas and Xion snapped out of whatever had come over them to frown at him. "What?"

"Nothing," he waved them off. "Don't worry."

Apparently the homing beacons went both ways, because barely a moment later, Sora appeared at the edge of the Sandlot. The second he spotted Roxas and Xion, his face lit up. He sprinted forward to meet them, leaving the blonde girl he'd arrived with to walk over by herself at a much more sedate pace. Naminé, Olette assumed. She looked almost exactly like Xion.

"Hey!" Sora skidded to a halt in front of them.

"Hi," Roxas said, wearing a soft smile Olette had never seen on him before. "What are you doing here?"

Sora glanced back at Naminé as she reached them, and Olette watched with interest as she and Xion linked their arms together happily.

"We went to help Rapunzel paint a mural," Naminé explained. "Riku asked us to pick up something from the Bistro on the way home."

Something that was almost a scowl ruined Roxas' smile. "Why couldn't he get it himself?"

Hayner took one look at his expression, and immediately Olette knew he had decided not to like Riku. "Who's Riku?" he asked in the tone he usually reserved for Seifer.

"A jerk."

Sora pouted. "My _best friend_."

Roxas was not moved. "Your best friend is a jerk."

Xion, to Olette's surprise, was as disappointed as Sora was. Naminé just looked sad.

"You're really not going to forgive him?" Sora asked.

"I might," Roxas said haughtily. "If he gets down on his knees and begs."

"Damn, what did he do?" Pence's attention darted between them like he was watching a tennis match.

Xion grimaced.

With a huff, Roxas crossed his arms, and declared, "Ruined my life."

"Roxas," Xion murmured.

" _And_ he owes me 5000 munny."

She blinked. "He does?"

If Sora and Naminé were surprised, they didn't show it. Naminé even looked apologetic. Sora quickly pulled out his munny pouch – the one he'd gotten from the other Twilight Town. "He gave it to me," he said. "So I'll give it back to you. I've even still got that gem from the trophy."

The soft expression was back. "Thanks, but it doesn't really mean anything unless it comes from him." A pause. "I'd rather beat it out of him anyway."

A mental image of Roxas hitting some random guy with a stick like some kind of human piñata popped into Olette's head. Fitting, given the occasion.

"Please don't," Sora begged.

"Can I help?" Hayner chimed in. Then, "Olette, I'm borrowing your baseball bat."

He meant the one with the nails hammered into it, she knew. "Come on, Hayner, violence isn't the answer."

Sora perked up.

"The answer is psychological warfare."

Sora deflated.

"Oh, I like it!" Pence crowed, pounding his fist into his palm. "He ruined Roxas' life, so now we ruin his."

Roxas blinked, taken off-guard by their dedication to vengeance. A small smile split his face – similar to the one he'd given Sora. Olette decided she really liked that smile.

Xion leaned closer to Sora, and Olette heard her whisper, "I'll find a way to talk them out of it."

For all her power, though, Olette highly doubted she'd manage it. The enemy of their friend was their enemy. Anyone who had a problem with Roxas had a problem with the rest of them, as far as they were concerned. She had expected Xion to be of the same mind.

"Hey," Sora suddenly said, apparently deciding he'd heard enough about his best friend's pending demise, "do you mind if we head to your place? I wanna say hi to Lea and Isa before we go."

There were no complaints – this _was_ the plan, after all – and as a group they headed up towards the train station. Olette fell into step with Xion and Naminé, while Pence and Sora distracted Roxas. At their rear, Hayner sent off a quick text to let Axel know they were on their way.

"I don't think we've met," Olette said to Naminé. "I'm Olette."

"This is Naminé," Xion confirmed what she'd already suspected. Their arms were still linked.

Naminé smiled shyly. "Hello."

Olette tried to recall what the notes had said about her. She was a Nobody, too, right? Kairi's? And had been involved in what had happened to Roxas... But besides looking almost identical to Xion (and Kairi), she seemed like a regular, if a little shy, teenage girl. Xion and Sora certainly liked her enough, though, so she couldn't be bad, right? Then again, neither of them had sided with Roxas about Riku...

"So how do you two know each other?" she hid her suspicions behind curiosity.

Xion and Naminé glanced at each other. "We're sisters."

Olette blinked, taken by surprise. Was that... possible? Unless it was a cover story; didn't they tell them that Xion and Roxas were related? But if Naminé was Kairi's Nobody, then why did Xion also look like them? How did she tie into it all?

"Oh, cool," she said, realising she'd just been staring at them.

Roxas drifted back to walk on Naminé's other side. He linked their arms together, much like Xion had. And as she watched the three of them together, Olette had never been more certain that those notes had been wrong.

* * *

The house was empty when they stepped inside. Or, at least, that was how it appeared. Pence didn't know how many people had been invited, but it couldn't have been too many – there weren't exactly many places to hide.

Roxas and Xion took the lead when their calls of "We're back!" had gone unanswered, stepping into the living room. With their attention diverted, Pence turned his questioning gaze to Hayner.

" _Kitchen,_ " Hayner mouthed, pointing in its general direction.

"Maybe they went out?" Xion suggested, when their search of the living room had also proved fruitless.

A frown had settled onto Roxas' face, and only continued to grow the longer he stood there. "They didn't say they were going anywhere." He reached for his phone. "Maybe we should call them."

"No!" Sora pushed past Olette, and grabbed his arm. "Uh, I mean, it's probably fine, right? I don't mind waiting!"

Roxas, Xion, and Naminé stared at him like he'd said something insane. Hayner hit his forehead against the doorframe.

"There's something weird going on," Roxas reached up to place one hand over his heart. He took a step towards the kitchen, then stopped again. He turned to Xion. "Can you feel that?"

"Feel what?" Pence asked. All he was feeling was the anticipation of getting the two of them to walk through the kitchen doorway.

"I thought it was you," he told Sora. "But it's stronger now and it's definitely _not_ you."

Xion and Naminé shared a weighted glance. "I thought I felt Kairi," Xion admitted, "but then Naminé was here and I thought I'd just gotten confused."

"I thought the same thing," Naminé said.

Roxas' frown deepened. "But didn't you say you couldn't sense each other?"

Xion and Naminé developed their own frowns. Sora was very visibly trying to find a way to salvage the situation, which meant he knew exactly what they were talking about. Pence wished he'd fill them in.

"Why would Kairi be here?" Naminé wondered.

"I know!" Sora shoved the three of them towards the kitchen. "Why don't we get something to drink and we can call her!"

Roxas didn't even seem to notice he was being pushed. "But I can't sense Kairi? It almost feels like..."

They crossed the threshold of the unnaturally dark kitchen. The lights flared of their own accord, and a frankly ridiculous number of people jumped out of hiding with an unsynchronised "SURPRISE!"

Pence couldn't help a flinch, even as he'd expected it.

Roxas, Xion, and Naminé (who apparently wasn't in on it) stood in open shock. Kairi had thrown confetti at them, and it was now stuck in their hair and on their clothes. They looked like they were bracing for a fight, but slowly relaxed when all they saw were familiar faces.

Familiar to them, anyway; Pence only recognised a handful. Axel and Isa were behind the counter, and Kairi was close to the door, a now empty bucket in hand. Donald and Goofy were still tangled in the curtains. And there was Ienzo, by the table, standing with someone who could have been Roxas' identical twin.

The table itself was completely covered in junk food, and on the far wall was a huge hand-painted banner with 'Happy Birthday' emblazoned on it. Streamers and balloons were tied to every available surface. It was like a party store had thrown up in their kitchen.

"What's going on?" Roxas was the first to break the increasingly uncomfortable silence. He looked briefly to Xion, but she was as lost as he was.

Sora, relieved of his secret-keeping burden, grinned ear-to-ear. "It's your birthday!"

Somehow, this did nothing to clear up the confusion.

"I thought it was last week?" Naminé said slowly.

Ienzo stepped around the table, a soft smile on his face. "It was, but there were... complications."

Pence did not miss the way Roxas' eyes met Isa's. Was there more to their last minute trip than they'd said?

"In any case, today is Xion's birthday, and we figured you would want to celebrate together anyway."

If they hadn't already known that Roxas and Xion weren't what they appeared, that probably would have been more confusing than it was.

Axel took one look at their still-lost expressions, and made his way around to join them, smile shifting to something fond.

"Birthdays are supposed to be celebrated," he explained quietly. "Usually that means a party."

"Oh," Xion said. "Why?"

"What'd'ya mean, _why?"_ he poked her in the forehead. "Because we love you, dummy!"

Naminé gaped, taking in the over-the-top decorations. "So all this is... for us?"

Kairi set down her bucket, and pulled a large pink badge from her pocket. She fastened it to Naminé's dress. It read ' _I'm 1!'_

"Happy birthday, Naminé."

Someone grabbed Pence's sleeve, dragging him back as Sora eagerly bounced forward to give Roxas and Xion badges, too.

"It's Naminé's birthday, too?" Olette whisper-panicked. "We didn't get anything for her!"

"Given that this is the first time we've even met her, it's probably fine," Pence reassured. "We can make it up to her later."

"Hey," Hayner leaned towards them, ignoring Olette's distress. "Which one do you think is Riku?"

Pence turned to eye the crowd. Most of them had stepped up to properly greet them now, although there were a few hanging back (including Roxas' doppelganger, he noted).

"Him," Olette said, pointing subtly to the silver-haired guy who'd gone to stand with Sora. "I think I remember him from when Kairi came to visit last."

Now that he was thinking about it, yeah he was kind of familiar. He didn't really look like the kind of guy who would go out of his way to ruin someone's life, but Pence wasn't about to judge from appearances. If Roxas said the guy was a jerk, the guy was a jerk.

"Let's put salt in his drink," Hayner said.

"Hayner!" Olette thwacked him in the arm.

"Oh, right. Let's make him _think_ we put salt in his drink."

"Whose drink?"

All three of them jumped at the unexpected intrusion on their plotting. Donald crossed his arms, staring at them with narrowed eyes. Pence hadn't even noticed him join them.

"Um," he tried. "No one's?"

Donald was not buying it.

Hayner matched Donald's stance, daring him to defy him. "Riku ruined Roxas' life so we're gonna get back at him, and there's nothing you can do to stop us!"

To their surprise, though, instead of protesting, Donald burst into laughter. Or, well, what passed as laughter when you were a giant talking duck.

"Roxas doesn't need help with that."

As if on cue, they heard Roxas calling out to Riku, and turned in time to watch him aim a party popper right at Riku's face. Streamers exploded out, getting stuck in his hair, and more than a few landing in the drink he'd only just poured.

Roxas was very visibly proud of himself. Riku's grip on his cup threatened to crush it.

"Hey!" Kairi bellowed from across the room. "No friendly fire!"

Roxas' grin grew menacing. "Don't worry," he said, reaching for another popper, "it wasn't."

The popper was snatched from his hand before he could fire it, and Roxas glared up at the culprit – a blue haired lady Pence didn't know. She held it up out of his reach.

"I'm starting to think Lea might be a bad influence," she said, ignoring Lea's indignant sputtering in the background. "You should know better. If you want to start a fight, do it outside where you won't break anything."

"Sorry, Aqua."

She gave him back the popper.

Riku sighed heavily.

* * *

Xion carefully pressed down on the fold of her paper, watching as Aqua showed her the next step. It was something called origami – Ienzo had given Naminé a book (he'd given _her_ a scrapbooking kit, which she was equally excited to try), and Aqua was showing them how to read the instructions. They were supposed to be making a crane. At the moment, it just looked like a folded square of paper.

"And then this line here means to fold it like this," Aqua slowly pulled one corner down. Xion and Naminé copied her.

It still didn't look like a crane. In fact, it was starting to feel like the more she folded, the less crane-like it appeared. That is, right until Aqua pushed down the head and pulled the wings, and then suddenly there it was, sitting in the palm of her hand.

Xion replicated what she'd done. Her crane was slightly wonky, but it still looked like Aqua's. "I did it!"

Naminé's own was a little neater, and she cradled it in her cupped hands. "It's just made of folded paper."

"There are heaps of them you can make in here," Aqua flipped through the pages. "I'd love to see them when you make them. Will you send me some photos?"

"Okay."

Xion looked up as Roxas appeared at her shoulder. She held her crane up for him to see.

"Did you make this?" he asked, gently taking it from her for a closer look.

"She sure did," Aqua smiled proudly.

"Do you want to make one, too?" Naminé carefully set down her own crane to show him the book. "It doesn't have to be a crane."

Aqua pulled out the chair on her other side invitingly, and for a moment Xion was certain he was going to take it. But then the next thing she knew, he was glancing over his shoulder anxiously.

"Um, maybe later," he said, returning Xion's crane. "I'm gonna... go to the bathroom." And then he was off again, disappearing out into the hallway.

Aqua frowned after him. "Is he okay?"

Ven stepped in from the living room, and Xion immediately knew why Roxas had refused. They watched him quickly scan the room, and then slump down into a free chair across from them.

"If you're looking for Roxas, he just left," Aqua said.

"He's still avoiding me," Ven sighed.

"Give him time. He probably just doesn't know what to say."

It was more than that, but Xion wasn't really sure how to explain it, or if it was even her place to. "I don't think it's you he's avoiding," she told him. She knew that much, at least. Still, the sight of his downtrodden expression upset her, and she set down her crane on the table in front of him. "Do you want to make a paper crane?"

Ven eyed it with interest. "Sure."

* * *

"Okay, are we ready?" Hayner asked, as Pence dropped his now empty bag down by couch.

"Ready!" Olette confirmed, Xion's present clutched in her arms. Hayner was carrying Roxas'. They'd seen a few people starting to hand out presents already, and he'd been dying to see their faces since he'd found out what Pence and Olette had found for them.

"Ready," Pence agreed, holding up his camera.

"Let's go!"

Last he'd seen, Xion had been enticed into the kitchen to try out Naminé's new origami kit, so they headed there first. As they entered, for a moment Hayner thought they'd lucked out and found both of them at the same time, but on second glance that wasn't Roxas with them. It was that other guy Hayner had seen. The one who looked creepily similar to Roxas that so far no one had bothered to explain.

"Hey, Xion!" Olette announced their presence. All four of them looked up at their approach, and Olette held out her present. "This is for you! Happy birthday!"

Xion blinked, taking it from her like it was made of glass. She stared down at the shiny black paper reverently. "What is it?"

"Open it and find out," Hayner grinned.

She did, being careful not to tear the paper, and before long she was looking down at her brand new, custom Struggle bat: a soft lavender instead of the regular blue, and patterned with cartoon seashells. She looked like she was going to cry.

"The Queen needs her own sword," Pence told her.

"Thank you!" Xion looked up at him, clutching the bat to her chest. Her smile was huge. Pence quickly snapped a photo.

"We're gonna go find Roxas to give him his," Hayner glanced quickly at the doppelganger. "Wanna come?"

"Sure," Xion stood, then hesitated. To the doppelganger, she said, "I can let him know you're looking for him, if you want."

"Thanks," and he even _sounded_ like Roxas. "But it's okay. I'll see him later when we give you guys _our_ present."

Xion seemed uncertain, but didn't argue.

They'd barely left the kitchen before Hayner dragged her back just enough to whisper, "Okay, I've gotta ask. Who's he and why does he look like Roxas?"

"It's the other way around, I think," Xion said after a moment. "Ven's older. Axel said it has something to do with Ven's heart spending so much time in Sora's, but I didn't really get it."

Sometimes it felt like the more they learned, the less they knew. Why would Ven's heart be in Sora's? Was he a Nobody too?

Xion took one look at their faces, and offered, "You could try asking Axel?"

"Yeah, nope," Hayner said immediately, at the same time as Olette's "No, that's okay", and Pence's "It's fine". The last thing they needed was Axel thinking they were still snooping around.

Xion raised a brow, but let it drop.

"Let's just find Roxas," Pence changed the subject. "I've been dying to give him this all day."

"He's over by the stairs," Xion said with absolute conviction, despite her having no clear way of actually knowing that. Unless it was their 'homing beacon' thing again.

She was right, though; Roxas was exactly where she said he'd be, alongside Sora, Kairi, and a tall guy with very loose pants that Hayner didn't know. The tall guy was standing with his arms out, and Roxas and Sora were hanging from his biceps. Kairi was intermittently watching them and her phone.

The four of them stared for a long moment. Sora waved.

"What are you doing?" Olette asked.

"Seeing how long Terra can hold us up," Roxas said.

"He's _crazy_ strong," Sora added. "How long has it been now?"

Kairi checked her phone. "Five minutes, twenty-seven seconds. Tired yet?"

The guy, Terra, laughed. "The two of you combined weigh less than Ends of Earth. I could do this all day." To prove the point, he started doing squats.

"Show-off," Roxas said, as if he wasn't still dangling from Terra's arm, and therefore part of the problem.

"Xi, get in there too," Kairi called.

Xion looked dubious.

"Xion, pick him up!" Sora said. "We'll make a tower."

"That's really not what I meant."

Xion set her bat down against the wall. Instead of lifting all three of them, though, she took Roxas' offered hand, and allowed him to swing her up so she was standing on Terra's shoulders. He shifted a little to rebalance, but showed no signs of struggling.

Sora and Roxas were visibly dissatisfied.

"Add the claymore," Sora said.

"The what?" Terra only just managed to get out, before his knees bent further with the additional, unexpected weight of a _giant claymore_ that had just appeared out of thin air. Xion was holding it with one hand.

"Holy shit," Hayner said.

Pence silently raised his camera, and snapped a photo.

"Since when can you use a claymore?" Roxas tilted his head back to look up at her.

She shrugged. "I can use anything, if I see it enough."

"Cool. Can you do Axel's chakrams?"

The claymore disappeared, and was replaced with two massive spiked wheel-shaped things. Hayner wasn't sure whether he was terrified or impressed.

"If you guys are done showing off," Olette said pointedly, "Roxas, we have something for you."

Roxas let go, dropping to the floor with a light thud. Terra tipped heavily to the left. "Terra was the one showing off."

"You think I don't know the muscle strength it takes to hold yourself up like that?"

Game over, Terra lowered Sora back down, too. Xion jumped down unassisted. "She's right, you know. You guys are pretty strong for such scrawny kids."

"Who's scrawny?!" Sora flexed.

Kairi laughed, finally lowering her phone, and held out an arm. "How about this?"

"Kairi! When did you get so buff?!"

Roxas snorted at their antics as he and Xion wandered over. Before he'd even finished clearing the distance, Hayner tossed him the present he'd been carrying with a bright, "Here ya go!"

He stared at it for a long moment, before looking up at them uncertainly.

"Well?" Olette prompted. "Aren't you gonna open it?"

He nodded, and in direct contrast to Xion, simply tore the wrapping open until he had a clear view of the box.

"A printer?" he read.

"For photos," Pence explained. "You connect it to your phone, and you can print as many as you want!"

"Wait, really?!"

"Oh, cool!" Terra looked over his shoulder. "Hey, want me to take a photo of the five of you, so you can try it?"

Roxas deftly handed over his phone, and then they were bunching up together in front of the stairs. It took only a second to take the photo, and that again to print it, and then there it was: a small square photo of all of them. Roxas held it with the same reverence Xion had with her bat.

* * *

They'd just finished printing out a photo of Xion and Isa, and deciding what to take next, when Mickey came to join them. Xion hadn't seen him since the party had first started, and she wasn't sure how she felt about the excitedly knowing expression on his face. Especially since he was staring directly at her.

"Xion," he started, "Riku tells me that ya took care of Pluto for a while."

She took a moment to repeat his words in her head, but it did nothing to make them make any more sense. She turned to Roxas for answers, but he only shrugged. "Pluto?"

Mickey nodded, which did not help. "I wanted to thank ya personally, and I'm sure Pluto does, too! So I've brought him to say hi!"

A large, excited dog burst out from around the corner, tail wagging a mile a minute. Xion's eyes blew wide.

"Puppy?!" she cried, and the dog happily barrelled into her open arms. She buried her face in his fur, and tried not to cry. He'd disappeared from the Castle, and she'd never been able to figure out where he'd gone. "I missed you!"

Roxas hesitantly reached out to pet him. "Where'd he go? We thought he ran away."

Mickey's smile turned apologetic. "Riku had him on a special mission. He was kind of our inside ear in the Organization. When we learned what we needed to, Riku went and rescued him."

Roxas scowled. "Riku stole Xion's dog?"

Oh no.

"Wow," Hayner said. "What a jerk."

"Yeah, who steals someone's dog?" Pence agreed.

Xion unwillingly pushed herself away from Pluto. "But he's Mickey's dog, so it's fine, right?" Sure, she'd been sad when she'd discovered he'd gone, but if he'd gone back to his real home then that was better, wasn't it? Besides, she really didn't want Roxas to have another reason to hate Riku.

Olette wrapped an arm around Xion's shoulder, and pulled her close. "He let you get attached, and then took him away again. He's a jerk."

Mickey frantically tried to clear Riku's name, but his words fell on deaf ears.

Xion looked up at Isa, hoping for some solidarity. He tore his eyes away from Pluto to meet hers, and she did not see an ally.

* * *

Naminé had never felt so awkward in her life. She was sitting with Xion and Roxas, with a large cake on the table in front of them. A '1' shaped candle had been stuck in the top. Around them, everyone was singing a song that was, according to Sora, a legal requirement for birthdays. It was nice, to feel so loved, but...

She didn't know where to look. Was she supposed to make eye contact with them? It was far too uncomfortable to hold anyone's gaze, but looking away felt rude. She'd been staring at the tabletop, face red, and hyper-aware of how she was holding her hands in her lap for what felt like an eternity.

The song continued on. Naminé was starting to worry it wouldn't end.

But then, finally, there was a cheer, and she was instructed to blow out the candle with Roxas and Xion. She'd been told to make a wish. It felt selfish to want more than she already had, but as soon as they'd mentioned it she'd known what she was going to wish for.

There was one face missing from the group in front of her.

Naminé closed her eyes, and _wished._

* * *

The party was starting to wind down when Roxas was, inevitably, cornered. He, Ienzo, and Goofy had been trying out the video game console Sora and Kairi (and Riku) had gotten them in the living room when Aqua and Ven suddenly appeared beside them. They were carrying a large eski between them. There was a bow stuck on the lid. Goofy paused the game.

Roxas had realised pretty quickly that what he'd been sensing before had been Ven, and had since been using the knowledge to avoid him. But he'd gotten so absorbed in the game that he'd forgotten about it.

"Found them," Terra announced, entering the room with Xion and Naminé in tow. Xion was still holding Pluto. Ienzo and Goofy got up from their spots, and the girls were ushered forward to sit there instead. The eski was set down on the coffee table in front of them.

"This is from all of us," Ven said.

Ienzo took one look at it, then stuck his head into the kitchen. "Lea," he called, "they're opening it."

"Wait, wait!" they heard him yell. A second later, Axel skidded into the room, phone poised to record. "Okay, go."

Roxas eyed him warily. That was... an unusual reaction, to say the least. He hadn't felt the need to record any other presents they'd been given.

Xion found her nerve first, reaching out to lift the lid.

The eski was filled with different coloured cylindrical tubs, surrounded by large ice cubes. Naminé pulled one out, holding it so Roxas could see the label.

"Vanilla Glitz," he read.

Naminé twisted it in her hands. "It's... ice cream?"

"One tub of each flavour from Disney Town," Aqua said.

There were a lot of tubs. Were there really that many flavours of ice cream? Roxas pulled out another. This one was something called Royalberry. Xion, who had grabbed one called Rockin' Crunch, looked as overwhelmed as he felt.

"I think they're in shock," Terra whispered.

"There are so many flavours?" Xion gaped.

"More," Ven grinned. "These are just the Disney Town flavours. There are a bunch of other normal ones, too."

Despite himself, Roxas' attention jerked up to meet his eye. "There are _more?!"_

Ven blinked. "Next time I'll take you out to try them, if you want."

Xion pivoted in her seat so she was facing Axel. "Axel, _look!_ "

Axel laughed. "I see 'em, Xi. You gonna try them or what?"

Where would they even start? There were way too many to choose from. Isa set down a stack of bowls and spoons next to the eski, and at his suggestion, they scooped a little of each of the flavours into their bowls.

"You're not having some, too?" Roxas frowned, when he realised that only he, Xion, and Naminé had any.

"You have to have first try," Axel told him. "We can have some later."

Roxas, Xion, and Naminé glanced at each other, shrugged, and took a bite.

It was completely different from sea-salt. Where sea-salt was salty as well as sweet, the one he was trying – Vanilla Glitz – was only sweet. It was _amazing_. His thoughts must have shown on his face, because he'd barely tasted it before Aqua laughed,

"I think that's a win."

"This is really good!" Xion cried around a mouthful of Royalberry. "But I think I still like sea-salt better."

Roxas agreed with her. This ice cream was incredible, but it had none of the feelings sea-salt carried. It was ice cream, but it wasn't _their_ ice cream. Maybe that was why he didn't feel that same hesitancy to eat it like he did with sea-salt; it didn't feel the same.

"Axel, try this," Xion held her spoon out to him, as he finally finished recording.

Roxas grabbed two more bowls and spoons, sliding one across the table to Axel. The other he held out to Isa.

"You have to have some, too," he said. It wasn't sea-salt, but it was still ice cream, and friends ate ice cream together. And Isa... Roxas wasn't really sure where he and Isa stood most of the time, but maybe they could be something like friends.

And from the way Isa nodded as he accepted the bowl, he was willing to try too.

It wasn't the clock tower, and it wasn't sea-salt ice cream, but sitting there, surrounded by his friends and eating ice cream for the first time since they'd all come back, it felt like maybe one day it could be.


End file.
